Recessed control knob for cooking equipment

ABSTRACT

A recessed control knob assembly, preferably for use with commercial cooking equipment having a control panel, including a generally cup-shaped skirt positioned in a suitable recess provided therefor in the control panel, the cup-shaped skirt having a base with outwardly and forwardly sloping sidewalls terminating in an annular flange, the base of the skirt having a knob secured thereto which projects forwardly thereof but which is entirely contained within the skirt with the forward end surface of the knob displaced slightly inwardly of a plane defined by the annular flange of the skirt so that the knob is protected against accidental jarring, suitable indicia being stamped or otherwise marked upon the annular flange of the skirt, and the knob being attached to a suitable thermostat or control, the knob and skirt being manually rotatable as a unit relative to the control panel.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Harry A. Gouwels South Holland;Thomas R. Rehberg, Chicago Heights, both 01, III. (21] Appl. No. 27,313[22] Filed Apr. 10, 1970 [4S] Patented Aug. 10, 1971 [73] AssigneeGeneral Electric Company [54] RECESSED CONTROL KNOB FOR COOKINGEQUIPMENT 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs. [52] US. Cl. 74/553, 74/548, 99/422,1 16/124 R [51] Int. (L G05g'l/10 [$0] IieldotSarcl 74/553,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,294,686 9/1942 Newman287/53 H 2,868,025 1/1959 Spear 74/553 UX Primary Examiner-William F.ODea Assistant Examiner-F. D. Shoemaker Attorneys-Arthur E. Foumier,.lr., David M Schiller, Joseph B. Forrnan, Frank L. Neuhauser and OscarB. Waddell ABSTRACT: A recessed control knob assembly, preferably foruse with'commercial cooking equipment having a control panel, includinga generally cup-shaped skirt positioned in a suitable recess providedtherefor in the control panel, the cupshaped skirt having a base withoutwardly and forwardly sloping sidewallsterminating in an annularflange, the base of the skirt having a knob secured thereto whichprojects forwardly thereof but which is entirely contained within theskirt with the forward end surface of the knob displaced slightlyinwardly of a plane defined by the annular flange of the skirt so thatthe knob is protected against accidental jarring, suitable indicia beingstamped or otherwise marked upon the annular flange of the skirt, andthe knob being attached to a suitable thermostat or control, the knoband skirt being manually rotatable as a unit relative to the controlpanel.

Patented Aug. 10, 1971 3,597,996

,4 TTGR Y RECESSED CONTROL KNOB ron COOKING EQUIPMENT BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION I. Field of the Invention My invention relates to commercialcooking equipment, and more particularly to an improvement in controlknob assemblies for cooking devices of the type having a vertical frontpanel on which the controls for the device are mounted.

2. Description of the Prior Art For purposes of selecting the desiredcooking temperature when using commercial cooking devices such asgriddlcs, hotpla'tes, deep-fat fryers, etc. such devices are .commonlyprovided with a temperature control knob, the knob being suitablyconnected to a thermostat which controls the operation of the devicesheat generating means. As is evident from the prior art, it has becomethe conventional practice to position the aforesaid temperature controlknob on the vertical front wall of the device where the device isprovided with a self-enclosing integral housing. Where the devicecomprises a drop-in unit mounted in a stainless steel counter or tablewhereby the latter counter or table becomes in essence a housing for theunit, the temperature control knob is commonly found positioned on acontrol panel located in the vertical front apron of the counter ortable. By positioning the temperature control knob at the front of thedevice in either of the aforesaid manners, the knobs are located withineasy reach of the chef operating the particular cooking device. On theother hand in such a position the knobs project forwardly from the frontof the device and are thus exposed to be extremely vulnerable to beingaccidentally bumped into by a chef working in front of the equipment.Such treatment is injurious to both the cooking device. Another Ies thansatisfactory approach.

which has been tried is to recess the front control panel into thehousing of the device, or the apron of the counter or table depending onthe particular type of installation being utilized.

The primary disadvantage of this latter approach is that due to therelatively low position of the knob relative to the eye ofthe operator,it is very difficult to read the printed matter stamped or otherwisemarked on the dial portion of the knob assembly.

OBJECTS or THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the presentinvention to provide a novel and improved control knob assembly forcooking equipment which does not project beyond the front wall surfaceof the cooking equipment to any appreciable extent and yet which hasprinted matter so disposed such that it can be readi- Iy read by theoperator.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a controlknob assembly for cooking equipment wherein the forward end surface ofthe knob is displaced slightly inwardly of a plane defined by theannular flange of the-skirt of the control knob assembly surrounding:the knob such that the knob is protected against being accidentallystruck and damaged.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the preferred form of theinvention there is provided a control knobassembly foruse primarily inthe control panels of cooking devices. The control knob assemblywhich ispositioned in a recess in the control panel 'includes a generallycup-shaped skirt having a base with forwardly extending'side wallsterminating in an annular flange in juxtaposed relation to the frontsurface of the control panel. A knob is secured to the base of the skirtand projects forwardly but is entirely contained within the skirt. Theforward end surface of the knob is displaced slightly inwardly of aplane defined by the annular flange of the skirt sothat the knob isprotected against accidental jarring. Suitable indicia is stamped orotherwise marked upon the annular flange of the skirt and the knob isattached to a suitable thermostat or control. The knob and skirt rotateas a unit relative to the control panel. a

The invention will be more fully understood from the fol lowing detaileddescription and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view ofacommercial cooking device incorporating a recessed control knob assemblyin accordance accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referringto'FIG. I of the drawing,the invention is shown as incorporated in a commercial cooking devicegenerally designated by're'ference numeral 10. For purposes of describing the invention, the particular type of commercial cooking devicewhich has been selected for illustration comprises what is commonlyreferred to in the art as a griddle, the latter primarily being for usein frying various food products.

They griddle I0 includes front and rear walls II and 12, respectively, apair of opposed sidewalls 13, a bottom wall 14, and a top wall I5 havingan enclosed rectangular portion projecting upwardly from the top wall I5adjacent the rear wall .12. Suitably supported on the top wall 15 in amanner well-known in the art there is provided a cooking surfacecomprising a substantially flat, rectangular heat conducting :member 16.Although not shown in the drawing in the interest of simplification ofillustration and inasmuch as it is not suitably provided therefor (notshown) in the top wall I5 of the griddle 10, i.e., adjacent the rearedge of member 16 as viewed with reference to FIG. I of the drawing injuxtaposed relation tozthe upstanding portion I50 of top wall 15.

The heat conducting member I6 of griddle I0 is preferably electricallyheated by one or more suitable heating elements (not shown) which may besuitably secured to the bottom surface of themember 16 in the mannerdisclosed for example in 1938. Pat. No. 3,439,152 which is assigned tothe same assignee as-the present invention. The heating elements havenot been illustrated in the drawing inasmuch as they are well-known tothose skilled in the art and .form no part of the present invention. Thetemperature'of the heat conducting member 16 is controlled by means of atemperature control assembly 17 centrallylocated-on front wall 11 ofgriddle 10.

In accord with the invention the control assembly 17 is positioned onthe front wall 11 so that it does not project forwardlyitherefrom to anyappreciable extent and has indicia so located as to be readily viewableby'the operator. As best understood with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 ofthe drawing, the

- temperature control assembly 17 illustrated therein includes agenerally cup-shaped skirt 18 positioned in a suitable recess 19provided therefor in the front wall ll of griddle l0. The

cup-shaped skirt I8 has a base 20 with forwardly extending base 20 ofcup-shaped skirt I8 is provided with a substantially circular opening 24located at the approximate center thereof. At approximately 90intervalsaround its circumference, the opening 24 is provided with a plurality ofrelatively small, as compared to the size of opening 24, semicircularopenings 25,

26, 27, and 28, respectively, for a purpose to be more fully set forthhereinafter.

Extending inwardly around its circumference, the knob 23 is preferablyprovided with a plurality of knurls 29 to facilitate grasping androtating the knob 23. For essentially the same reason the head 30 ofknob 23 is preferably slightly enlarged relative to the base 31 thereofresulting in a flange 32 being created substantially midway along thelength of knob 23. The base 31 of knob 23 is provided with a pair ofopposed threaded holes 33 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 4). Thespacing between the holes 33 corresponds to the spacing between opposedsemicircular openings 25 and 27, and 26 and 28 of cup-shaped skirt 18.In addition base 31 is provided with a pair of opposed semicircularprojections 34 which correspond in configuration to the semicircularopenings 25, 26, 27, and 28 of cup-shaped skirt 18 such as to bereceivable in the opposed pair of openings 25 and 27, or 26 and 28.Finally the base 31 of knob 23 is provided with a centrally locatedsemicircular projection 35 which guards the entrance to a similarlyconfigured semicircular slot 36 extending inwardly a suitable distanceinto the body portion of knob 23.

To affix the circular knob 23 to the cup-shaped skirt 18, the pair ofsemicircular projections 34 on the base 31 of knob 23 are inserted intoeither the pair of opposed openings 25 and 27, or the pair of opposedopenings 26 and 28 provided in the base 20 of skirt 18. For purposes offurther description'of the assembly of the knob 23 to the skirt 18, letus assume that as indicated in FIG. 4 of the drawing, the projections 34are received in openings 25 and 27. With the pair of projections 34 sopositioned, the pair of threaded holes 33 provided in base 31 f knob 23thereby simultaneously become aligned with the pair of semicircularopenings 26 and 28 provided in the base of skirt l8. Suitable fasteningmeans such-as the screws 37 illustrated'in FIG. 3 of the drawing arethen inserted through the semicircular openings 26 and 28 of skirt l8and are screwed into the threaded holes 33 of knob 23 thereby securelyaffixing the knob 23to the skirt I8. When so assernbled, the projection35 formed on the base 31 of knob 23 projects through the opening 24provided in the skirt 18 where it is utilized for a purpose to bedescribed hereinafter. It can thus be seen that by virtue of theinterengagement of projections 34 with openings and 27, and screws 37with the holes-33 of knob 23 and the openings 26 and 28 of skirt 18, anyrotation of the knob 23 will be imparted to the skirt [8 such that theknob 23 and the skirt l8 will rotate effectively as a unit withessentially no relative inovement, i.e;, slippage, occurringtherebetween.

With the knob 23 and skirt 18 having been assembled in the foregoingmanner into a unit, this assembly isthen ready for mounting in therecess 19 suitably provided therefor in the 7 front wall I I of griddleI0. To accomplish this mounting of the knob and skirt assembly, the base20 and side walls 21 of the skirt I8 are inserted into the recess 19until the annular flange 22 of the skirt'l8 is located in juxtaposedrelation to the surtion is chosen to be at least equal in depth to thethickness of the annular flange '22 of the skirt 18 in order to ensurethat the annular flange 22 does not project beyond the surface of frontwall 11 when the skirt 18 is positioned within recess 19.

In accordance with conventional practice, a rotatable shaft 38comprising an operating portion of a suitable thermostat or other formof heating control (not shown) 'is" positioned inwardly of the frontwall ll of griddle 10 in the approximate center of recess I9. Thethermostat or control in a manner well known to those skilled in the artis connected to the previously described heating elements so as toconstitute a means for selecting a desired temperature for the member [6in accordance with the type of food product to be cooked thereon as wellas a means for maintaining this heating temperature in the member l6 forthe duration of the cooking cycle.

At least the end portion of the rotatable shaft 38 has a semicircularconfiguration corresponding to that of the pro jection and slot 36 ofbase 3t of knob 23. Accordingly, when the combined knob and skirtassembly is being inserted into the recess 19 provided in the front wall11 of griddle 10, the end portion of rotatable shaft 38 is received intothe slot 36 with a friction type fit. It will of course be understoodthat and skirt assembly will remain mounted on the shaft 38 by virtue ofthe friction fit existing between the sidewalls of slot 36 and the .endportion of shaft 38.

As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the annular flange 22 ofcup-shaped skirt 18 is provided with suitable indicia 39 which is eitherstamped or otherwise marked thereon.

face of front wall 11 bordering the recess 19 as illustrated in 7 FIG. 3of the drawingsPreferably the front wall 11 of griddle I0 is providedwith an indented flange portion l9a defining the circumference of therecess 19. The depth of the indenta- Likewise, the front wall 11 ofgriddle 10 is provided with a suitable mark 40 whereby the particularone of the indicia 39 'on the annular flange 22 which is opposite themark 40 indicates the desired heating condition for the heat conductingmember 16. Thus, as illustrated for example in FIG. 2 of the drawingwhere the legend OFF on the annular flange 22 is depicted positionedadjacent the inverted triangle which comprises the mark 40 being used asan indicator on the front wall ll, the heat generating means (not shown)for the heat conducting member I6 would be in the OFF condition.Similarly,

if the knob 23 is rotated from the position depicted in FIG. 2 of thedrawing such that the legend MEI)" on the annular flange 22 were nowadjacent the inverted triangle 40, this would signify that the heatconducting member 16 was being heated to and would thereafter bemaintained at a MEDIUM heat.

Because the temperature control assembly 17 operates to vcontrol thecooking temperature of the heat conducting member 16, it is necessarywhen first mounting the knob and skirt assembly in the recess 19 and onthe end portion of shaft 38 to-ensure that the relationship which existsbetween the actual operating condition of the heatgenerating meansassociated with shaft 38 and the condition thereof indicated by theparticular one of the indicia 39 on annular flange 22 which is oppositethe mark 40 is correct. To this end, it is desirable when mounting theknob and skirt assembly on shaft 38 to first rotate the shaft 38 to theposition wherein the heat generating means connected thereto will be inthe OFF condition. Thereafter, the semicircular portion of the knob 23is aligned with the semicircular portion of the shaft 38. whereupon, thebase 20 and side walls 21 of the skirt 18 are inserted into the recessI9 and the knob 23 is concomitantly slid onto shafts-38. When somounted, the legend "OFF" on the annular flangez'22 should be positioneddirectly below the inverted triangle 40 on front wall II. Should thiscondition be found not to exist, the knob and skirt assembly areremovedfrom the recess 19 and the-shaft 38, and the screws 37 areunscrewed from the threaded holes 33. The knob 23 is then disassociatedfrom the skirtlS. That is, the projections 34 of the knob 23 aredisengaged from the openings 25 and 27. The knob 23 may then be rotatedand reassembled with the skirt l8'sueh that when the knob and skirtassembly are once again inserted into the recess 19 and mounted on theend portion of shaft 38, the legend OFF on the annular flange 22 of theskirt i8 will be positioned directly below the mark 40plt is of courseto be recognized that in reassembling the knob 23 and the skirt 18 itmay be necessary to position the projections 34 on the base 3! of knob23 in the openings 26 and 28 rather than the openings 25 and 27 wherebythe holes 33 will be aligned with openings 25 and 27 such that thescrews 37 will pass through the openings 25 and 27 rather than theopenings 26 and 28 in base of skirt 18 as previously described. Sinceeach of the openings 25, 26, 27, and 28 have the-same dimensions, thisof course poses no problem. Thus, it is seen that the variousprojections which the base 31 of the knob 23 is provided with as well asthe openings 25, 26, 2.7, and 28 of base 20 of skirt 18 with which theaforesaid projections cooperate constitute a form of aligning meansensuringthat once the proper relationship between the legend bearingannular flange 22 of skirt [8 and the rotatable shaft 38 of the heatgenerating means has been established that this relationship willcontinue to he maintained.

' Therefore, in accordance with the present invention there has beenprovided a control knob assembly for cooking equipment which has noportion thereofprojecting beyond the front.- wall surface of the cookingequipment. Further, this controk knob assembly when mounted. on.suitable cooking equipment is such that the forward end surface of theknob is displaced slightly inwardly of a plane defined by the annularflange of the cup-shaped skirt surroundingthe knob such that the knob isprotected against being accidentally struck and damaged. Moreover, theprinted matter by. being located on the annular flange of the cup-shapedskirt is positioned so that itmay. be

readily read by the chef. Finally, there has been provided a controlknob assembly for cooking equipment which is relatively inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to install, yetwhich is also capable of beingemployedwithvarious different types'of cooking devices.

While only one embodiment of our invention has been illustrated, it willbe appreciated that many modifications thereof may readily be made bythose skilled in the art. For example, as previously mentioned thecontrol knob assembly in accordance with the present invention may beemployedv with devices which have their own housing as in the case ofthe device illustrated in the drawing, or with devices which areintended to be inserted into an opening providedtherefor in a. suitablestainless steel counter or table (not shown). Also,

. rather than having the projections 34 and holes 33-on base 3! of knob23 arranged in opposing pairs, i.e., arranged. l80apart along thecircumference of base 31, they could be arranged such that theprojections 34 are spaced only 90apart and the holes 33 are likewisespaced only 90apart. This would mean that with reference to FIG..4 ofthe drawing, the projections 34 might be received in openings 25 and 26in the bascof skirt 18' and the holes 33 would; be aligned withopenings: 27 and 28. We therefore intend by. the appended claims tocover the above modifications as well' as all other modifications.

which fall within the true spirit-andscope ofour invention;

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

I. For use with cooking equipment having hcat generating means andcontrol means therefore and at lcastonc enclosing wall surface, acontrol knob assembly comprising:

a. a knob having an elongated. body, said bodyincluding grasping meansformed atone end thereof and a; base formed at the other end thereof;

b. said base of said knob including mounting means;

c. securing means receivable insaid mounting means of said.

base of said knob;

d. a cup-shaped skirt includinga base, sidewalls extending forwardlyfrom said base of said skirt, and an annular flange formedat the outerend of said forwardly extending sidewalis;

said base of said cup-shaped skirt including means cooperating with saidmounting means of. said base of said knob and said securing means toamount said base of said knob on said base of said cup-'shaped skirtwith the forward end of said grasping means ofxsaidknob displacedsiightiy inwardly of a plane defined by said'annular flange of saidcup-shaped skirt to minimize the possibility of said knob beingaccidentally struck and damaged; said cup-shaped skirt with said. knobmounted thereto being supported in a recess suitably provided thereforin said enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment with. saidannular flange of said cup-shaped skin in juxtaposed relation; to saidenclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment and with said cupshapedskirt and said knob mounted thereto capable of being rotated as a unitreiative to said enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment; andsaid eontrob knob assembly including connection means for connectingsaid control knobassembly to said control means of said cookingequipment when said cup-shaped skirt with said knobmounted thereto issupported in said recess of said enclosing wall surface of said cookingequipment.

2. For use with cooking equipment having heat generating means andcontrol: means therefor and at least one enclosing wall surface, acontrol knob assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein:

a. said grasping meansof said body of said knob includes a plurality ofspaced knurls formed along the circumference. ofsaid elongated body andextending approximately halt the length of said body;

linsaidi base of said knob includes aligning means; and

c. said annular flange of said cup-shaped skirt includes indicia markedat spaced intervals along the-circumference of said annular flange.

3 For use witfrcooking equipment having heat generating means and;control means therefor and at least one enclosing wall. surface, acontrol knob assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein:

arsaidmounting meansof said base of said knob comprises a pair ofthreaded holesextending from the base of said knob i'nwardly intosaid-body of said knob;

b. said securing means comprises a pair of screws threaded into-saidpairof threaded holes of said base of said knob; and

c. said aligning means of saidbase of said knob comprises a pair ofsemicircular projections projecting outwardly from saidibase-of saidknob.

4. For use with cooking equipment having heat generatingmeansandieontrol means therefor and at least one enclosing wallsurface,a.-eontrol knobv assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein:

a said. base oti'saideup-shaped skirt. includes an opening substantiallycentrally located therein; said-sidewalls.ofsaid cup-shaped skirt areslightly longer in length than thelength of said elongated body of saidknobrand said connection. means of said control knob assembly comprisesascmicircular slot extendingfrom said base of said knob inwardly intosaid body of said knob and a semicircular: guidcfor saidsemicircularslot, said semicircular guide projecting through said openingin saidbase of saidcup-shaped skirt when said base of said knob is mountcdionsaid base of said-cup-shaped skirt.

5. Fonusc with cooking equipment having heat generating .meansandcontrol means therefor and at least one enclosingwallfsurf'ace',.a.controlknob assembly comprising:

.ata knobhaving an elongated body, said body including an en'larged headportion=formed at one end of said body for easeimgraspingsaid knob and-aslightly smaller base portionvformedat-the other end of said-body;

b. said base portion of said knob including a pair of 1 threaded holesformed therein and extending from said base portion inwardly into saidbody of said knob;

c. a pair of screws threadable into said pair of threaded holes formedin said base portion of said knob; I

d. a cup-shaped skirt including a base, sidewalls extending forwardlyfrom said base of said skirt and an annular flange formed at the outerend of said forwardly extending sidewalls; i I

c. said sidewalls of said cup-shaped skirt being: slightly longer inlength than the length of said elongated body of said knob; V L

i. said annular flange of said cup-shaped skirt including indicia markedat spaced intervals along the circumference of said annular flange; l

g. said base of said cup-shaped skirt including an opening substantiallycentrally located therein;

h. said opening in said base of said cup-shaped skirt having at leastone pair of substantially smaller semicircular openings formed along thecircumference thereof;

i. said pair of screws being passed through said pair of substantiallysmaller semicircular openings located along the circumference of saidopening in said base of said cupshaped skirt and threaded into said pairof threaded holes in said base portion of said knob to mount said baseporsaid knob mounted thereto capable of being rotated as a unit relativeto said enclosing wall surface ofsaid cooking equipment; and i k. saidbase portion of said knob including connection means for connecting saidknob to said control means of said cooking equipment when saidcup-shaped skirt with said knob mounted thereto is supported in saidrecess of said enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment.

6. For use with cooking equipment having heat generating 10 means andcontrol means therefor and at least one enclosing tion of said knob onsaid base of said cup-shaped skirt with the forward end of said headportion of said knob cooking equipment and with said cupshaped skirt andg wall surface, a control knob assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein:

a. said base portion of said knob includes aligning means;

said opening in said base of said cup-shaped skirt has at least anotherpair of substantially smaller semicircular 'jeetions projectingoutwardly from said base portion of said knob; and

d. said pair of semicircular projections are received in said anotherpair of substantially smaller semicircular openings in said base of saidcup-shaped skirt when said base portion of said knob is mounted on saidbase of said cup-shaped skirt.

7. For use with cooking equipment having heat generating means andcontrol means therefor and at least one enclosing wall surface, acontrol knob assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein:

a. said connection means of said base portion of said knob comprises asemicircular slot extending from said base portion 'of said knobinwardly into said body of said knob and a semicircular guide for saidsemicircular slot; and

b. said semicircular guide projects through said opening in said base ofsaid cup-shaped skirt when said base portion of said knob is mounted onsaid base of said cup-shaped skirt.

1. For use with cooking equipment having heat generating means andcontrol means therefore and at least one enclosing wall surface, acontrol knob assembly comprising: a. a knob having an elongated body,said body including grasping means formed at one end thereof and a baseformed at the other end thereof; b. said base of said knob includingmounting means; c. securing means receivable in said mounting means ofsaid base of said knob; d. a cup-shaped skirt including a base,sidewalls extending forwardly from said base of said skirt, and anannular flange formed at the outer end of said forwardly extendingsidewalls; e. said base of said cup-shaped skirt including meanscooperating with said mounting means of said base of said knob and saidsecuring means to amount said base of said knob on said base of saidcup-shaped skirt with the forward end of said grasping means of saidknob displaced slightly inwardly of a plane defined by said annularflange of said cup-shaped skirt to minimize the possibility of said knobbeing accidentally struck and damaged; f. said cup-shaped skirt withsaid knob mounted thereto being supported in a recess suitably providedtherefor in said enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment withsaid annular flange of said cup-shaped skirt in juxtaposed relation tosaid enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment and with saidcup-shaped skirt and said knob mounted thereto capable of being rotatedas a unit relative to said enclosing wall surface of said cookingequipment; and g. said control knob assembly including connection meansfor connecting said control knob assembly to said control means of saidcooking equipment when said cup-shaped skirt with said knob mountedthereto is supported in said recess of said enclosing wall surface ofsaid cooking equipment.
 2. For use with cooking equipment having heatgenerating means and control means therefor and at least one enclosingwall surface, a control knob assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein: a.said grasping means of said body of said knob includes a plurality ofspaced knurls formed along the circumference of said elongated body andextending approximately half the length of said body; b. said base ofsaid knob includes aligning means; and c. said annular flange of saidcup-shaped skirt includes indicia marked at spaced intervals along thecircumference of said annular flange.
 3. For use with cooking equipmenthaving heat generating means and control means therefor and at least oneenclosing wall surface, a control knob assembly as defined in claim 2wherein: a. said mounting means of said base of said knob comprises apair of threaded holes extending from the base of said knob inwardlyinto said body of said knob; b. said securing means comprises a pair ofscrews threaded into said pair of threaded holes of said base of saidknob; and c. said aligning means of said base of said knob comprises apair of semicircular projections projecting outwardly from said base ofsaid knob.
 4. For use with cooking equipment having heat generatingmeans and control means therefor and at least one enclosing wallsurface, a control knob assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein: a. saidbase of said cup-shaped skirt includes an opening substantiallycentrally located therein; b. said sidewalls of said cup-shaped skirtare slightly longer in length than the length of said elongated body ofsaid knob; and c. said connection means of said control knob assemblycomprises a semicircular slot extending from said base of said knobinwardly into said body of said knob and a semicircular guide for saidsemicircular slot, said semicircular guide projecting through saidopening in said base of said cup-shaped skirt when said base of saidknob is mounted on said base of said cup-shaped skirt.
 5. For use withcooking equipment having heat generating means and control meanstherefor and at least one enclosing wall surface, a control knobassembly comprising: a. a knob having an elongated body, said bodyincluding an enlarged head portion formed at one end of said body forease in grasping said knob and a slightly smaller base portion formed atthe other end of said body; b. said base portion of said knob includinga pair of threaded holes formed therein and extending from said baseportion inwardly into said body of said knob; c. a pair of screwsthreadable into said pair of threaded holes formed in said base portionof said knob; d. a cup-shaped skirt including a base, sidewallsextending forwardly from said base of said skirt and an annular flangeformed at the outer end of said forwardly extending sidewalls; e. saidsidewalls of said cup-shaped skirt being slightly longer in length thanthe length of said elongated body of said knob; f. said annular flangeof said cup-shaped skirt including indicia marked at spaced intervalsalong the circumference of said annular flange; g. said base of saidcup-shaped skirt including an opening substantially centrally locatedtherein; h. said opening in said base of said cup-shaped skirt having atleast one pair of substantially smaller semicircular openings formedalong the circumference thereof; i. said pair of screws being passedthrough said pair of substantially smaller semicircular openings locatedalong the circumference of said opening in said base of said cup-shapedskirt and threaded into said pair of threaded holes in said base portionof said knob to mount said base portion of said knob on said base ofsaid cup-shaped skirt with the forward end of said head portion of saidknob displaced slightly inwardly of a plane defined by said annularflange of said cup-shaped skirt to minimize the possibility of said knobbeing accidentally struck and damaged; j. said cup-shaped skirt withsaid knob mounted thereto being supported in a recess suitably providedtherefor in said enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment withsaid annular flange of said cup-shaped skirt in juxtaposed relation tosaid enclosing wall surface of said cooking equipment and with saidcup-shaped skirt and said knob mounted tHereto capable of being rotatedas a unit relative to said enclosing wall surface of said cookingequipment; and k. said base portion of said knob including connectionmeans for connecting said knob to said control means of said cookingequipment when said cup-shaped skirt with said knob mounted thereto issupported in said recess of said enclosing wall surface of said cookingequipment.
 6. For use with cooking equipment having heat generatingmeans and control means therefor and at least one enclosing wallsurface, a control knob assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein: a. saidbase portion of said knob includes aligning means; b. said opening insaid base of said cup-shaped skirt has at least another pair ofsubstantially smaller semicircular openings formed along thecircumference thereof; c. said aligning means comprises a pair ofsemicircular projections projecting outwardly from said base portion ofsaid knob; and d. said pair of semicircular projections are received insaid another pair of substantially smaller semicircular openings in saidbase of said cup-shaped skirt when said base portion of said knob ismounted on said base of said cup-shaped skirt.
 7. For use with cookingequipment having heat generating means and control means therefor and atleast one enclosing wall surface, a control knob assembly as defined inclaim 5 wherein: a. said connection means of said base portion of saidknob comprises a semicircular slot extending from said base portion ofsaid knob inwardly into said body of said knob and a semicircular guidefor said semicircular slot; and b. said semicircular guide projectsthrough said opening in said base of said cup-shaped skirt when saidbase portion of said knob is mounted on said base of said cup-shapedskirt.